Envisioning Telepresence Robots for Long Covid
A Critical Disability Lens
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22190818 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pratyusha Ghosh (0000-0001-8698-0350, University of California San Diego), Arthi Haripriyan (0009-0000-5544-9460, University of California San Diego), Alex Chow (0000-0001-7441-8934, University of California San Diego), Signe Redfield (0000-0002-5428-6054, Statistics Collaborative), Laurel D Riek (0000-0001-7906-6691, University of California San Diego) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-30 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2573-9522 • E-ISSN: 2573-9522 |
| Publisher | Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1145/3758101 |
| OpenAlex | W4412990912 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 111 |
Long Covid (LC) is a debilitating, multisystemic disease that has emerged as the largest mass-disabling event in recent history. Due to the episodic disability and stigma associated with the condition, people with LC (PwLC) often experience social isolation. Mobile telemanipulator robots (MTRs) have the potential to support remote social inclusion for PwLC. However, nuanced MTR design is necessary to accommodate PwLC’s fluctuating symptoms and avoid exacerbating them due to the complexities of teleoperation. In this work, we conducted participatory research with eight PwLC to explore how MTRs can be designed to support their needs. Through online, semi-structured interviews, we found that all participants recognized the potential of MTRs to enhance social inclusion across various settings. Our findings highlight the importance of providing PwLC with adaptive, autonomous support during teleoperation to meet their pacing needs and minimize exertion. Many PwLC preferred MTRs with adjustable autonomy, as they would offer greater agency over the robot’s actions in social spaces. Due to concerns about stigma, participants also wanted MTRs to provide flexible control over the visibility of their disability, allowing them to manage how others perceive them according to their preferences and context. Based on these findings, we present key design considerations, grounded in critical disability studies and critical access studies, for designing MTRs that support remote social inclusion for PwLC while safeguarding their well-being. This work serves as a basis for developing accessible MTR systems that promote inclusivity for PwLC and other chronic conditions
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Human–computer interaction · Optics · Outbreak · Physics · Robot · Computer Science · Gaze Tracking and Assistive Technology · Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 · Medicine · Social Robot Interaction and HRI · Artificial Intelligence · Virology
Long covid—mechanisms, risk factors, and management
The Lancet Commission on ending stigma and discrimination in mental health
Toward a Framework for Levels of Robot Autonomy in Human-Robot Interaction
Reliability and Inter-rater Reliability in Qualitative Research
Long Covid
A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of anthropomorphism in human-robot interaction
Disability, Space, Architecture
Effortless Polite Telepresence using Intention Recognition
The importance of estimating prevalence of ME/CFS in future epidemiological studies of long Covid
Conceptualising the episodic nature of disability among adults living with Long Covid
Chronic Illness and Representation
Perseverations of the academy
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Individuals’ Evaluations of and Attitudes Towards Potentially Uncanny Robots
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
A Middle-Range Theory of Social Isolation in Chronic Illness
Clusters of long Covid among patients hospitalized for Covid-19 in New York City
Disability interaction (DIX)
Telepresence robotic technology support for social connectedness during treatment of children with cancer
Aimi Hamraie Building Access
The privacy implications of social robots
One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis
Robomorphism
Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time
Student in the shell
What is Appropriate? On the Assessment of Human-Robot Proxemics for Casual Encounters in Closed Environments
After Crip, Crip Afters
The Impact of Stigma in Healthcare on People Living with Chronic Illnesses
Suffering in a productive world
I am just a shadow of who I used to be'-Exploring existential loss of identity among people living with chronic conditions of Long Covid
Getting back to normal? Identity and role disruptions among adults with Long Covid
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |